Minutes of the 24Th Meeting of the Fourth-Term Wong Tai Sin District Council of the HKSAR

Minutes of the 24th Meeting of the Fourth-term Wong Tai Sin District Council of the HKSAR

Date: 8 September 2015 (Tuesday) Time: 2:30 p.m. Venue: Conference Room, Wong Tai Sin District Council 6/F Lung Cheung Office Block 138 Lung Cheung Road Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon

Present:

Chairman:

Mr. LI Tak-hong, BBS, MH, JP

Vice-chairman:

Dr. WONG Kam-chiu, MH

Wong Tai Sin District Council (WTSDC) Members:

Ms. CHAN Man-ki, Maggie, MH, JP Mr. CHAN On-tai Mr. CHAN Wai-kwan, Andie, MH Mr. CHAN Yim-kwong, Joe Hon. CHAN Yuen-han, SBS, JP Mr. HO Hon-man, MH Mr. HO Yin-fai Mr. HUI Kam-shing Mr. KAN Chi-ho, BBS, MH, JP Ms. KWOK Sau-ying Mr. LAI Wing-ho, Joe, MH Mr. MOK Chung-fai, Rex, MH, JP Mr. MOK Kin-wing Mr. MOK Ying-fan Mr. SHUM Wan-wa, Dan Mr. SO Sik-kin Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy Ms. TAM Mei-po Mr. TING Chi-wai, Roy Mr. WONG Kam-chi, BBS, MH, JP Mr. WONG Kit-hin, Peter Mr. WONG Kwok-tung Dr. WONG Kwok-yan Mr. WONG Yat-yuk Hon. WU Chi-wai, MH Mr. YUEN Kwok-keung, Stephen

Absence with Apology:

Mr. LEE Tat-yan, BBS, MH

4_DCM24(2015 9 8)-e 1 In Attendance:

Mr. LAU Ka-keung, Peter, JP Director of Highways HyD ) Re.: Mr. CHEUNG Chi-hoi Regional Highway Engineer (Urban) HyD ) Item III(i) Mr. LEE Chi-shing Senior District Engineer (Kowloon East) HyD ) Ms. YIP Chui-ying Assistant District Engineer (Wong Tai Sin) HyD )

Mrs. TING YIP Yin-mei, Jessie, JP Postmaster General PO ) Re.: Mr. YAN Kwok-yuen, Leo Director (Operations) PO ) Item III(ii)

Mr. MA Hon-ngai, Harry Chief Engineer (Kowloon 3) CEDD ) Re.: Mr. IP Shu-kuen, Galy Senior Engineer (District Monitoring Group) CEDD ) Item III(iii) on Housing Sites & Special Duties (Kowloon) ) Mr. CHU Chi-hong, Keith Engineer / 12 (Kowloon) CEDD ) Mr. TSUI Man-leung, Lawrence Associate Director, Environment AECOM Asia ) Company ) Limited )

Mr. CHOW Man-tat Project Team Leader / CEDD ) Re.: Universal Accessibility Projects ) Item III(iv) Mr. WAN Ka-leung Project Supervisor / CEDD ) Universal Accessibility Projects ) Ms. LUI Bik-yuk, Pamela Principal Engineer Parsons ) Brinckerhoff ) (Asia) Ltd. )

Mrs. CHOI MA On-ki, Angel, JP District Officer (Wong Tai Sin) WTSDO Mr. LING Pak-ki, Ronald Assistant District Officer (Wong Tai Sin) WTSDO Mr. CHAU Cho-kei District Commander (Wong Tai Sin) HKPF Ms. Lily NG District Social Welfare Officer SWD (Wong Tai Sin / Sai Kung) Mr. WONG Hon-kit Chief Housing Manager HD (Wong Tai Sin, Tsing Yi, Tsuen Wan and Islands) Mr. YUNG Kin-man Chief Engineer / Kowloon 4 (Kowloon) CEDD Miss KAM Wai-ming, Esther Senior Transport Officer (Wong Tai Sin) TD Mr. LEUNG Chi-fai, Stephen District Leisure Services Manager (Wong Tai Sin) LCSD Mr. LEE Ying-keung, Henry (Acting) District Environmental Hygiene FEHD Superintendent (Wong Tai Sin) Mr. TING Tin-sang Senior Liaison Officer 1 WTSDO Ms. PANG Suk-wah, Phyllis Senior Liaison Officer 2 WTSDO Ms. TANG Wai-lan, Cecilia Executive Officer I (District Council) WTSDO

Secretary:

Miss LAM Wing-sze, Victoria Senior Executive Officer (District Council) WTSDO

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Opening Remarks

The Chairman welcomed all to the 24th meeting of the WTSDC. He first welcomed Mr. LAU Ka-keung, Peter, JP, the Director of Highways, Mr. CHEUNG Chi-hoi, Regional Highway Engineer (Urban) and Mr. LEE Chi-shing, Senior District Engineer/Kowloon East from the Highways Department for paying visit to WTSDC. Besides, he also welcomed the attendance of the following persons: Mr. LEE Ying-keung, Henry, (Acting) District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Wong Tai Sin) of Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD); Mr. LEUNG Chi-fai, Stephen, District Leisure Services Manager (Wong Tai Sin) of Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD); and Miss KAM Wai-ming, Esther, Senior Transport Officer (Wong Tai Sin) of Transport Department.

(I) Confirmation of Minutes of the 23rd Meeting of Wong Tai Sin District Council held on 7 July 2015

2. As there was no proposed amendment received ahead of the meeting or raised by Members present, the minutes of meeting was hereby confirmed.

(II) Progress Report of the 23rd Meeting of Wong Tai Sin District Council held on 7 July 2015 (WTSDC Paper No. 60/2015)

3. The Chairman invited Members to take note of the content of progress report and said that a written submission from two Legislative Councillors, four District Councillors, two community organisers and two co-oped Members from the Joint Office of Kowloon East Federation of Trade Unions was tabled (Annex 1). The document covered the issues required continued discussion upon expiry of the current-term DC. He invited Mr. MOK Kin-wing to give a presentation on the written submission.

4. Mr. MOK Kin-wing presented the written submission.

(The Hon. WU Chi-wai, MH and Mr. HUI Kam-shing attended the meeting at 2:40 p.m.)

5. The Chairman asked the Secretariat to put the written submission on file as a memorandum for discussion by the coming-term DC. Members with other views could inform the Secretariat in writing so that they could be handled in one-go.

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6. The Secretary reported that during the period between the 23rd meeting and 24th meeting, the Secretariat had issued to Members two circulation papers respectively from the Department of Health with title “Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Cap. 371) Designation of Bus Interchanges at Tunnel Portal Areas as Statutory No Smoking Areas” (WTSDC Paper No. 58/2015) and from the Home Affairs Department with title “Remuneration Package for Members of the Fifth Term District Council” (WTSDC Paper No. 59/2015).

III(i) Visit of Director of Highways to Wong Tai Sin District Council

7. The Chairman welcomed Mr. LAU Ka-keung, Peter, JP, the Director of Highways, Mr. CHEUNG Chi-hoi, Regional Highway Engineer (Urban), Mr. LEE Chi-shing, Senior District Engineer (Kowloon East) and Ms. YIP Chui-ying, Assistant District Engineer (Wong Tai Sin) again for attending the meeting for discussion of this agenda item.

8. Mr. LAU expressed gratitude to the Chairman and Members for allowing them to pay a visit to WTSDC. He also thanked all Members for their continuous support to the work of Highways Department (HyD) by giving their valuable comments on the works projects, making the projects better suited to the needs of local community. By way of a Powerpoint presentation, he gave a briefing on the organisation structure and main duties of the Department, which was consolidated as follows：

(i) Organisation Structure and Duties of HyD

The HyD consisted of four streams, namely, the Railway Development Office which was responsible for the development of railways; the HK-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge HK Project Management Office which took care of all works concerning the HK-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge; the Major Works Project Management Office that was responsible for all other major works projects; and there were the Headquarters plus two Regional Offices as well.

Regional Offices were the Urban Regional Office and the New Territories Regional Office.

The HyD had about 2 100 staff, among which about 510 of them were professional officers and 1 100 were technical staff. They had all along been working hard for railway development as well as road construction and repair.

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The length of roads in Wong Tai Sin District was about 55 kilometres. Apart from being responsible for the repair of roads and relevant structures, including, among other, flyovers and pedestrian subways and street illumination, the Department also had the duty of maintaining and repairing some roadside slopes in Wong Tai Sin.

(ii) The Shatin to Central Link (SCL) Project

The major works project involving Wong Tai Sin District included the development of the SCL Project commissioned to the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corporation Limited (MTRCL). The SCL would stretch from Hin Keng to Wong Tai Sin District through the Lion Rock. After reaching the Diamond Hill Station, the link would then extend further south to the Ho Man Tin area. The representatives of HyD and MTRCL had presented on 1 September 2015 the works progress to the Working Group on Government and Public Utilities Works Projects under WTSDC. He summarised the progress of four works projects concerning the Wong Tai Sin Section of SCL as follows:

(a) Reprovision of Ma Chai Hang Recreation Ground and Construction of Ventilation Building

The works project of SCL had to temporarily occupy the site of Ma Chai Hang Recreation Ground. The construction of ventilation building at Ma Chai Hang Recreation Ground was in good progress and the MTRCL had also opened up some facilities such as temporary jogging track and the nearby sitting out area for use by the public.

(b) Wong Tai Sin Public Transport Terminus

The works project of SCL had to temporarily occupy part of the junction of Wong Tai Sin Road and Shatin Pass Road for constructing emergency assess and developing a public transport terminus. Consensus on the design had also been secured from the District Council.

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The extension works of Diamond Hill Station was in full swing. The up-track tunnel had been opened through whereas the works of down-track tunnel was also underway. The structural construction works of the station was also in progress.

(d) Improvement to the Pedestrian Facilities in Tsz Wan Shan

Some covered pedestrian walkways under the works projects, including part of them along Fung Tak Road, had already been opened for residents’ use in end of 2014. It was expected that other pedestrian facilities would also be opened for use one after another between the end of 2015 and 2016.

The HyD, in the whole course of the SCL project implementation, had organised meetings with community liaison groups and consulted local views via the District Council, in the hope to minimise the impacts of the project on the residents.

(iii) “Universal Accessibility” Programme

The HyD had been for years retrofitting lifts or ramps (under original planning) to public footbridges, elevated walkways and subways that were without standard barrier-free facilities. However, the works progress was hindered by resources constraints. Later in 2012, the Government announced a new policy of “Universal Accessibility” and the creation of a new block allocation subhead for implementation of “Universal Accessibility” works projects by the Department was approved by the Legislative Council in 2013.

Under the “Universal Accessibility” Programme, as long as the site conditions permit, provision of lifts at walkways could be considered even if standard ramps had already been installed there to bring convenience to the public.

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(a) Works Progress Under the Original Plan

The three works projects in Wong Tai Sin under the original plan, namely, “Pedestrian Subway Across Lung Cheung Road near Choi Hung MTR Station” (Structure No.: KS7), “Pedestrian Subway Across a slip road from Po Kong Village Road Southbound to Tai Hom Road” (Structure No.: KS17), and “Footbridge Across Lung Cheung Road near Tin Ma Court” (Structure No. : KF57) had already started.

For another five projects, namely, “Elevated walkway along Fung Mo Street over Lung Cheung Road” (Structure No.: K8) and “Pedestrian Subway across Choi Hung Road near Lok Sin Road” (Structure No.: KS12), the feasibility study or design process was underway whereas “Elevated Walkway at Po Kong Village Road over Lung Cheung Road” (Structure No.: K36), “Pedestrian Subway Across Prince Edward Road East near San Po Kong Interchange” (Structure No.: KS35) and “Footbridge Across Ma Chai Hang Road near Lung Cheung Government Secondary School” (Structure No.: KF60) were currently under review.

He understood that Members had diverse views on the above five projects and that Department would take those views into careful consideration before project implementation.

(b) Works Progress under “Universal Accessibility” Programme

Under the “Universal Accessibility” Programme, the HyD had, during the period between August and October 2012, invited members of the public to propose locations at where they considered that installation of lifts to walkways was necessary. Afterwards, each DC would select three proposals for priority projects.

The three priority projects selected by the WTSDC were at the “Footbridge Across Lung Cheung Road near Ma Chai Hang Road” (Structure No.: KF58), “Footbridge Across New Clear Water Bay Road linking Choi Wan Commercial Complex Phase II” (Structure No.: KF56) and “Footbridge Across Fung Tak Road near Lung Poon Street” (Structure No.: KF76).

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Among these projects, the works for “Footbridge Across Lung Cheung Road near Ma Chai Hang Road” (Structure No.: KF58) had already commenced while the remaining two were at the stage of detailed design. The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) would later, at discussion of the Agenda Item III(iv) of this meeting, consult Members’ views on the works project of “Footbridge Across Fung Tak Road near Lung Poon Street” (Structure No.: KF76), in the hope that the WTSDC could endorse the gazettal of the project.

On invitation by the WTSDC, the Department also installed lift for the district minor works project “Footbridge Across Po Kong Village Road near Fung Tak Road” (Structure No.: KF78). The site was located at the junction of Po Kong Village Road and Fung Tak Road with many underground conduits and cables requiring relocation. Coupled with the industrial accident took place in early 2015, there was a delay in the project completion. Understanding Members’ aspiration for early completion of the project, the Department, together with the contractor, strove for an early completion as quickly as possible. In end of August 2015, the works was completed and the facility was opened for public use.

(iv) Other District Works

The HyD was also responsible for the enhancement, repair and maintenance of other roads for the districts. For example, reconstruction of the footbridge of Lung Cheung Road near Hsin Kuang Centre, retrofitting of pedestrian crossing facilities near Tak Oi Secondary School in Tsz Wan Shan, enhancement of pedestrian walkways near Good Hope School at Jat’s Incline, repaving of walkway at Tung Tau Tsuen Road and Prince Edward Road East, resurfacing of the carriageways of Lung Cheung Road and Prince Edward East, as well as provision of gullies at Ying Fung Lane and Lung Cheung Road, and so on.

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Meanwhile, the Department also conducted urgent repair works to the slopes in the district. For example, after the rock fall incidents in May and June 2013 at Shatin Pass Road (Slope No. : 11NE-A/C503), shortcreting of slope surface was conducted. Shortcrete cover and wire meshes were also respectively applied to the slopes of Shatin Pass Road (Slope Nos. : 11NE-A/C503 and 11NE-A/C497) as preventive repair initiatives.

(Mr. YUEN Kwok-keung, Stephen, attended the meeting at 2:45 p.m.)

9. The Chairman thanked Mr. LAU for the presentation. He added that the Secretariat had received a written submission of WTSDC Members from the Wong Tai Sin Branch of Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) (Annex 2) before the meeting. It was tabled at the meeting. The Chairman asked Mr. LAI Wing-ho, Joe, MH, to present the written submission.

10. Mr. LAI Wing-ho, Joe, MH presented the written submission on behalf of the Wong Tai Sin Branch of DAB.

11. Mr. SO Sik-kin said that he had been looking forward to Mr. LAU’s visit to the WTSDC for years and was very pleased to meet Mr. LAU at the final meeting of the Fourth-term District Council for exchange of views. He was at first worried about the slow relocation progress of Ma Chai Hang Recreation Ground. With sound coordinative efforts of Members and community liaison groups, the number of complaints had substantially reduced. Nonetheless, the recent road subsidence found in Tsui Chuk Garden had yet been repaired. He hoped that the MTRCL and HyD could look into the incident to see if the road subsidence was caused by their works project. Besides, since revision of the SCL routing in 2009 to en-route the Chuk Yuen area, he and some resident organisations had all along been striving for enhancing barrier-free facilities of Tsui Chuk Garden and urging for construction of lift. They had met with government officials at the Central Government Offices, Legislative Council and WTSDC in this regard. He had also submitted documents to the HyD and other government departments but so far only the preliminary plan of the project was noted and no information on works progress was obtained. He had been following up on the project since 2009 and opined that the project had been delayed for six years just because a very small section of private road was involved. It was hoped that the HyD could coordinate accordingly and invoke the Roads (Works, Use and Compensation) Ordinance (Cap. 370) to make possible the gazettal procedure without delay. Lastly, he hoped that the HyD could report at the meeting of the Working Group on the progress of its made-up plan for Ma Chai Hang Indoor Games Hall.

(Mr. MOK Ying-fan attended the meeting at 3:00 p.m.)

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12. Mr. KAN Chi-ho, BBS, MH, JP applauded the HyD for the great changes brought to the Wong Tai Sin District upon its implementation of “Universal Accessibility” Programme. For the construction works of lift at “Footbridge across Po Kong Village Road near Fung Tak Road” (Structure No.: KF78) that Mr. LAU had mentioned, the efforts made by the Department was particularly commendable because construction of lift at that location was of high difficulty. The Department managed to keep exchanging views with the local community and Members on every works progress. Coupled with the brilliant coordination efforts made by Mrs. Angel CHOI, JP and strong support rendered by Members, all difficulties were overcome and the works was completed. Meanwhile, he also pointed out that it might be due to hastiness for works completion, there were six to seven days in which the lift was out of order, including the lift trap incident taken place on the DC meeting day, during the 16 days since the operation of the lift. To provide assurance to the residents, he hoped that the HyD could follow up on the maintenance of the lift.

13. Mr. MOK Kin-wing acknowledged that the “Universal Accessibility” Programme was a meritorious initiative which specified policy on and provided resources for lift construction in the district. Yet, he considered that the policy was not ready at the current stage. The Chief Executive had once said that the works projects would be “introduced once they were ready”. The works progress of the three barrier-free facilities in the district, however, was very slow. For example, endorsement of WTSDC for construction of lift outside Exit C of Choi Hung MTR Station, i.e. at the “Pedestrian Subway Across Lung Cheung Road near Choi Hung MTR Station” (Structure No.: KS7), had been secured before the implementation of “Universal Accessibility” Programme in 2012 and the tendering procedures had also been completed in 2014. However, the works did not start until March 2015. At the same time, some residents found that the site was frequently left idling with the excavation sporadically conducted. The estimated project completion date would be by the end of 2017 to 2018. He considered that it took about 4 to 5 years to complete the construction of lift reflected that manpower resources might not able to cope with the works even if there was sufficient financial resources. It failed to “address people's pressing needs” and fell short of the residents’ expectation. The Government had earlier announced that upon completion of the first three barrier-free facility projects, the District Councils could further propose three works projects. He was concerned that the three new works projects would also fell short of the expectations, having regard to the slow progress of the first three projects. He hoped that the HyD could try improving the situation as far as possible. Besides, he said that it would be easier for the HyD to implement projects under its purview as compared with those in collaboration with the HD or other government departments, and he hoped that Mr. LAU could play a good role as a coordinator.

(The Hon. CHAN Yuen-han, SBS, JP and Mr. SHUM Wan-wa, Dan, attended the meeting at 3:05 p.m.)

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14. Mr. HO Yin-fai queried that while it had already taken several years for the lift construction works at the “Pedestrian Subway Across Lung Cheung Road near Choi Hung MTR Station” (Structure No.: KS7) to move from the preparatory stage to development stage, there was currently no construction works for the lift and the excavation works were just in progress. When he was asked by the residents about the works progress, he could only say that the works should have been completed two years ago but it was currently still in progress. He commented that the soil investigation and excavation were repeatedly conducted under this project and the site was left unattended most of the time. Therefore, no concrete progress had been made. He pointed out that such works delay would affect the implementation of the remaining three barrier-free facility projects which might each have to take 5 to 6 years to complete. This was unacceptable. He hoped that Mr. LAU could “think what people think” and “address people’s pressing needs”. He wished the project could be completed as soon as possible with the policy support and resources available.

15. Ms. KWOK Sau-ying praised the HyD for constructing many gorgeous-looking lifts in Wong Tai Sin District. She had been longing for Mr. LAU’s visit to this District Council because the footbridges in the district, including the one at Choi Hung Road and the Hsin Kuang Footbridge, would be cleaner and more tidy than usual in the Director’s every visit to the district. She pointed out that the transparent materials used in constructing new footbridges made trash and junk more visible, which triggered off complaints from members of the public. She hoped that Mr. LAU could pay more visits to Wong Tai Sin District during the next term of District Council, so that the environment of the district could be made better. Besides, she said that there was long-standing water-leakage problem at the footbridge at Choi Hung Road near Wong Tai Sin Police Station in the past ten-odd years and the leakage was particularly serious on rainy days. The hygiene and leakage problems had been frustrating to the residents. She learnt from the Secretariat of WTSDC that some members of the public had already reflected the problems to the Government and she hoped that the HyD could actively follow-up on the issue.

(Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy, attended the meeting at 3:10 p.m. while Mr. CHAN Yim-kwong, Joe, left the meeting at this juncture.)

16. The Hon. WU Chi-wai, MH invited Mr. LAU to give a detailed account on the resources allocation in respect of the barrier-free access facilities works. He said that the HyD could, with the block fund allocation granted by the Legislative Council to the Administration for retrofitting barrier-free facilities, have sole discretion on the use of the allocation. He enquired about: (1) the role and function of Mr. LAU in respect of the management of the granted fund and the allocation criteria; (2) the target completion date of the HyD’s works programme of repaving the walkways with sand and bricks for the whole Wong Tai Sin District; (3) the day-to-day maintenance procedures adopted upon completion of walkway repaving exercise, such as inspection

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arrangements and checkup criteria, and whether problems would be handled on an action-on-complaint basis instead; (4) whether the works team for Wong Tai Sin would be further divided into sub-teams to allow sufficient resources for the sub-teams to finish the required work locally since the works division for the whole Kowloon East did not have the resources to strengthen its routine inspection duties or handle urgent maintenance requests; and (5) whether Mr. LAU would re-consider reallocation of resources to let the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) centralise and take up the duties of footbridge cleansing which was currently shared between the HyD and FEHD.

17. Ms. CHAN Man-ki, Maggie, MH, JP acknowledged that the “Universal Accessibility” Programme was a meritorious initiative with underlying principle of “Footbridges and walkways should be provided where the roads were steep with low accessibility”. The proposed “Pedestrian Link at Chuk Yuen North Estate” under the Programme would bring much convenience to the community. However, the pedestrian link was connected only to the area at above the mid-hill level and the Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital. In her opinion, as the project was funded by public money, the pedestrian link should be extended to the hilltop of Tsz Wan Shan at which two public rental housing estates (including Shatin Pass Estate), two Home Ownership Scheme Estates, two primary schools and two columbaria were located. The population size there was about 40 000 persons, among which about 3 100 persons were residents of Shatin Pass Estate. It took the latter about 20 minutes to walk down through the narrow and steep road from the hilltop to Tsz Wan Shan Shopping Centre where the nearest basic food shops, retail shops or medical centres could be found. She queried that it would be a waste of public money if the “Pedestrian Link at Chuk Yuen North Estate” was just connecting to the mid-hill level while the needs of 3 100 residents from the hilltop Shatin Pass Estate were ignored. The purpose of “Universal Accessibility” Programme would then be defeated as well. She hoped that the HyD would not forget the residents of Shatin Pass Estate and those residing at the hilltop of Tsz Wan Shan.

18. Ms. TAM Mei-po shared the view that the “Universal Accessibility” Programme did good to the community, but its progress was slow. As early as in 2012, the WTSDC had already set up the Working Group on Barrier-free Facilities in Wong Tai Sin and accorded priority to study the barrier-free facilities in Choi Wan area. She said that in her pamphlet titled “Revitalisation of Choi Wan” (活化彩雲) published in 2011, the locations in Choi Wan Estate requiring barrier-free facilities had been listed out. The request for provision of lift or escalator at the open space outside Pak Fung House of Choi Wan Estate was cited by her as an example, saying that many residents of the Aria, the Scenic View and Choi Wan Estate have to walk along the slope outside Pak Fung House of Choi Wan Estate for commuting to their work places during ordinary days. On the morning of this meeting day, she had conducted an inspection

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in Choi Wan area with the representatives of FEHD and found that there were piles of rubbish. The densely grown vegetation was also providing breeding place for insects and mosquitoes, jeopardising the residents’ health. She quoted Dr. LAU Chi-wang, James, BBS, JP, as saying during their on-site inspection that the open space outside Pak Fung House of Choi Wan Estate was the most viable location for retrofitting barrier-free facilities in Choi Wan area. Choi Wan Estate was lack of barrier-free facilities. Although she learnt from the Working Group on Barrier-free Facilities in Wong Tai Sin that barrier-free facilities connecting Choi Wan Estate would be built upon completion of the redevelopment project of St. Joseph's Home for the Aged, both residents and Members were aware of the fact that the redevelopment project had been discussed and shelved for years without any further progress. Therefore, she hoped that all the government departments concerned could be well-coordinated to expedite the implementation of “Universal Accessibility” Programme under which facilities for enhancing the living environment of residents and benefiting those who residing at the hilltop could be provided.

19. Mr. HUI Kam-shing said that in the coming several years the HyD would have many works projects involving Wong Tai Sin District, including the SCL works and the projects under “Universal Accessibility” Programme. However, many of these projects were in slow progress and much time had also been spent on discussing the project design and resolving the problems raised by various parties. While understanding that there would be many problems encountered in implementing the works projects, he hoped that the Department could do its best to strive for completion. There were many hillside housing developments in Wong Tai Sin, including, among others, Choi Wan Estate, the estates in Tze Wan Shan, Chuk Yuen Estate and Tsui Chuk Garden. He was concerned about the way the HyD could do in enhancing accessibility for the elderly and other residents through the “Universal Accessibility” Programme and other barrier-free facility projects. Besides, he hoped that the Department could enhance its transparency and maintain close communication the stakeholders. In this regard, he quoted two cases as examples. First, some stakeholders of the “Pedestrian Link at Chuk Yuen North Estate” project held different views on the routing and he hoped that the Department could take those views into consideration. He echoed the saying of Ms. CHAN Man-ki, Maggie, MH, JP that as the project was funded by public money, extension of the pedestrian link to the hilltop of Tsz Wan Shan should be considered. Second, just as what Mr. SO Sik-kin had mentioned, although there were many technical problems encountered in retrofitting barrier-free facilities connecting Tsui Chuk Garden to Chuk Yuen Road and Chuk Yuen (South) Estate, the Department had to expedite the progress. Detailed plan for the Ma Chai Hang Recreation Ground project had not yet been drawn up. He hoped that the Department could fully consult the local residents and stakeholders in the course of project implementation to avoid the project turning into a “white elephant” one that failed to meet the needs of the local community while the public money were wasted.

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20. Mr. TING Chi-wai, Roy considered that in the coming 10-odd years, the proportion of elderly population in Wong Tai Sin District, and also in the whole territory, would become higher and higher. He therefore supported the implementation of “Universal Accessibility” Programme in Hong Kong. Before the Chief Executive took his office, the WTSDC had already taken the lead to set up the Working Group on Barrier-free Facilities in Wong Tai Sin which was chaired by Mr. LAI Wing-ho, Joe, MH, with Members inputting their views. He was pleased to see that the Chief Executive had taken forward the policy in this regard, but he understood that the HyD encountered various ownership issues when it implemented the policy on the areas outside its purview. For example, Chuk Yuen (North) Estate was an estate under the Tenants Purchase Scheme. At its main entrance, there was a long staircase with over 60 steps, which was inconvenient to the elderly. Retrofitting of barrier-free facilities at the main entrance of Chuk Yuen (North) Estate, i.e. at Chuk Yuen Road, would, however, fell within the purviews of HyD, Lands Department, LCSD, and the Link Real Estate Investment Trust (The Link REIT), and the ownership issues might also be involved as well. He had already raised this point to the Chief Executive and Secretary for Transport and Housing during their attendance to a local consultation forum. Besides, he noted that the Chief Secretary for Administration had some new ideas and suggestions on the “Universal Accessibility” Programme during her visit to Wong Tai Sin in July 2015. He hoped that Mr. LAU could relay such information to the Transport and Housing Bureau (THB) and that the Bureau could take care of the needs of the community under the Tenants Purchase Scheme.

21. Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy, welcomed Mr. LAU’s visit. In her view, the residents of Diamond Hill wanted to have a lift retrofitted at Lung Poon Street under the “Universal Accessibility” Programme to bring convenience to those from the nearby elderly centre in accessing other places, such as, Fung Tak Estate and Lung Poon Court. However, many difficulties had been encountered in the course of striving for the implementation in the past two years but it was still unconfirmed at this stage. She hoped that the Department could consider conducting site inspection again and studying the feasibility of constructing a lift there.

22. Mr. SHUM Wan-wa, Dan concurred with what had been said by Ms. KWOK Sau-ying and the Hon. WU Chi-wai, MH, including the hygiene problem of footbridges in the district that they had raised. He considered that the works of HyD completely dealt with people’s livelihood. However, water leakage and drain blockage of footbridges frequently took place. He took the “Footbridge across New Clear Water Bay Road linking Choi Wan Commercial Complex Phase II” (Structure No.: KF56) as an example, saying that he had received complaints from many residents against the prolonged water leakage problem of the footbridge. He had also called the 1823 Call Centre and sent letter to the HyD to report the situation but the result was unsatisfactory. The problem remained unsolved for another eight months until the Department gave

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him a reply on the problem and solution. He pointed out that although these problems were small, the problem of water leakage did upset the residents of Choi Wan Estate because they frequently commuted through the said location. He was of the view that the resources from the Government were not insufficient. Instead, there was something wrong with the frontline administration and supervision. Members of the public in Hong Kong had on and off come across with small problems concerning different government departments. These small problems would gradually accumulate and someday provoke negative emotion. Therefore, he hoped that the Department would attach importance to the management and cleanliness of footbridges. He also suggested bringing such duties under the purview of one single department. Besides, the Government had to improve and enhance its systems for helping the general public to tackle the issues of their prime concern. He hoped that the footbridges in Wong Tai Sin would be clean and hygienic not only during Mr. LAU’s visit to Wong Tai Sin. Other than that, he said he had consulted the residents on the CEDD’s proposal of retrofitting a footbridge outside Kai Fai House of Choi Wan (II) Estate at New Clear Water Bay Road. The residents expressed that the retrofitted footbridge would not be of much use and that they could cross the road with other walkways or through the “Footbridge Across New Clear Water Bay Road linking Choi Wan Commercial Complex Phase II” (Structure No.: KF56) where provision of the lift had been proposed. He suggested the Government to spend the public money on other necessary works projects instead.

23. Mr. WONG Kwok-tung believed that Mr. LAU should, after listening to other Members’ views, have noticed that all Members were very familiar with and had many grumbles about local affairs. He commended the HyD for its perfect efforts previously made in handling road traffic issues. However, since the implementation of “Universal Accessibility” Programme in 2012, the HyD had to additionally tackle many questions raised by Members as well. As the title of “Universal Accessibility” Programme contained the word “accessibility”, the HyD had to be responsible for the Programme. However, the nature of work under the Programme was completely different from that of the HyD’s normal work. From a policy and legal point of view, implementation of the Programme was necessary. Nonetheless, when the Programme dealt with the sites that involved private ownership, Housing Department, slope, or when the proposed lift would block out the sunlight from the residential development and thus had to be handled in compliance with the Building Ordinance (Cap. 123), the retrofitting works would become complicated and implementation by the HyD would be difficult. Although the Legislative Council had allocated funding to the HyD for its free disposal, he considered that the HyD was not free to do whatever it wished and constrained by many issues it encountered. He hoped that Mrs. Angel CHOI, JP and the Legislative Council Members could take a careful consideration. Or else, the seven works projects proposed by the DAB would only be continuously delayed without implementation.

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24. The Hon. CHAN Yuen-han, SBS, JP said that she shared Mr. WONG Kwok-tung’s views, opining that all Members had already expressed their views on the “Universal Accessibility” Programme in numerous meetings before and she acknowledged that Mr. LAU had a very important role to play in this regard. The “Universal Accessibility” Programme announced by the Chief Executive had already singled out the problems of hillside developments in old districts including the Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong Districts. However, the implementation procedures which included, among others, selection of works site, budgeting and detailed plan of the project, were complicated. She said that it was the fourth year of her term of office in WTSDC but this issue was still perplexing her. She hoped that Mr. LAU could give Members a concise reply on how to expedite the implementation of the “Universal Accessibility” Programme in Wong Tai Sin. If the funding from the Legislative Council was still not allocated, she could, together with the Hon. WU Chi-wai, MH, offer assistance as far as possible. She understood that many problems were at district level instead. For example, the “Pedestrian Link at Chuk Yuen North Estate” could not be connected to the hilltop of Tsz Wan Shan due to costs constraint. She hoped that Mr. LAU could give Members a reply and set a time-table for the works projects repeatedly mentioned by them. If the proposed works projects were not feasible, explanation had to be given to Members.

(Mr. WONG Kit-hin, Peter, left the meeting at 3:35 p.m.)

25. Mr. LAU Ka-keung thanked Members for their enquiries and comments, and gave his consolidated reply as follows:

(i) Resources Allocation of “Universal Accessibility” Programme

He explained the differences in the lift provision under “Universal Accessibility” Programme, “Hillside Escalator Links and Elevator Systems” Programme and in the Public Rental Housing (PRH) estate.

The usage of block and annual funding allocations endorsed by the Legislative Council for the “Universal Accessibility” Programme were subject to the requirement prescribed on its endorsement, i.e., the Administration could only use the funding for providing barrier-free facilities at the existing public walkways (namely, the public footbridges, elevated walkways and subways maintained and repaired by the HyD). The Government also provided hillside links under the “Hillside Escalator Links and Elevator Systems” Programme to bring convenience to the residents there. For examples, the

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“Pedestrian Link at Chuk Yuen North Estate” on which Members’ views had previously been consulted was also included in this Programme. The pedestrian link of Tsui Chuk Garden would also be placed under this programme.

As the purpose and scale of the “Universal Accessibility” Programme and “Hillside Escalator Links and Elevator Systems” Programme were different, the Government had already devised them in two programmes when formulating its policy and the two programmes were implemented concurrently. The works projects under the “Universal Accessibility” Programme were primarily for provision of barrier-free facilities to the existing public walkways and the scale was relatively smaller. For the works projects under the “Hillside Escalator Links and Elevator Systems” Programme, they were relatively more complicated and required more pre-implementation preparatory work by the HyD, including, among others, investigation and preliminary planning, consultation with DCs and relevant stakeholders, gazettal of works notices, handling of written objections (if any), acquisition of land (if necessary) under the Roads (Works, Use and Compensation) Ordinance (Cap. 370), provision of detailed design plan, seeking funding approval of the Legislative Council and calling for tenders. As all these preparatory steps entailed complicated procedures and were more controversial, the whole process would take longer time for completion.

He cited the lift construction works of the following projects as examples for comparison: (1) “Footbridge Across Po Kong Village Road near Fung Tak Road” (Structure No.: KF78); and (2) “Pedestrian Link at Chuk Yuen North Estate”. While the scale of the former was smaller, the latter was more complicated with the link stretching through many road junctions and staircases and en-routing various areas including school area. There were diverse views on the project among the residents and users on both sides of the link.

He reiterated that the funding allocation under the “Universal Accessibility” Programme was only for providing barrier-free facilities at existing public walkways and that the THB had separate funding allocation for provision of necessary barrier-free facilities at pedestrian links within PRH estate areas.

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Noting all Members’ comments on provision of lifts and escalators for hillside housing estates, he said that the HyD would earnestly handle the works in different ways but under one same principle, having regard to the complexity of the projects. He had received written submissions before the meeting and taken note of Members’ views which he would seriously consider. However, these programmes had to be handled in different ways. If the Government had no further new policy or the Legislative Council did not alter the scope of the programmes, the HyD would follow the current practice in handling all the works projects.

(ii) Schedules of All Works Projects

He understood that some Members considered the project construction period of these projects quite long. Just as what the Administration had mentioned in explaining to the Legislative Council on project funding allocation, these works projects required 4 to 5 years to complete. Although construction of lifts at the existing footbridges or subways was simpler, the HyD still had to undertake many other works procedures, for example, relocation of underground conduits at the site that caused obstruction to the piling works, which was very common in Hong Kong. Therefore, the HyD had to spend much time for the design and pre-implementation preparatory work and allow lead time for the public utility companies to relocate their underground conduits upon commencement of works. For the point raised by some Members that workers were seldom seen working at the site after works commencement, he said that it might be due to the reason that it was pending underground conduit relocation arrangement. When necessary, the HyD would also revise the design in the light of the actual circumstances of the site.

He took the lift construction works at the “Footbridge Across Po Kong Village Road near Fung Tak Road” (Structure No.: KF78) as an example, saying that the HyD had once discovered some unrecorded high-voltage electric cables beneath the site after digging open the ground. As the Department had not foreseen such circumstances before works commencement and the relocation works needed quite some time, the Department then had to, upon relocation of the underground conduits, change the

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original pile arrangement under the constraint of confined site in order to enable laying the foundation for the lift and constructing lift tower.

He was aware of the community’s aspiration for early completion of works. Bearing the aspiration in mind, the Department would prompt the contractors to complete the projects as soon as possible.

(iii) Roles of the HyD

The HyD adopted different approaches in implementing works projects under different programmes and tried its best in playing its coordinating role. That said, it would be difficult for the Department if the works involved issues outside the purview of HyD, for instance, the land ownership issue as mentioned by Mr. WONG Kwok-tung. If the project involved private land, even if the size involved was very tiny or it was an idling site, the HyD still had to settle the issue in accordance with the established procedures set out in the relevant ordinances. Therefore, it would take longer time.

Both the HyD and CEDD would try their best in implementing the works projects under the “Universal Accessibility” Programme as far as possible. For example, the lift construction works at “Footbridge Across Fung Tak Road near Lung Poon Street” (Structure No.: KF76). The CEDD would consult Members in this meeting on the gazettal of this works project. In fact, it had been the HyD’s hope since 2012 for early implementation of the projects under “Universal Accessibility” Programme. However, due to manpower constraint at that time, the HyD then engaged the CEDD to implement the three priority projects of Wong Tai Sin under the “Universal Accessibility” Programme. It demonstrated that the HyD did sincerely hope to commence the projects as early as possible.

Currently, the Government was in full swing in implementing the three priority projects under “Universal Accessibility” Programme in all districts. Upon smooth implementation of the first batch projects and having regard to other factors including the works progress, views of District Councils, the capacity of construction

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industry, the department’s resources and public opinion, the Government would further consider other proposals. The lift construction works at the “Footbridge at the Juncture of Fung Tak Road and Lung Poon Street” (Structure No.: KF92) mentioned by Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy, was taken as an example. Currently the HyD had no resources for the implementation and the MTRCL had also opined after study that the works were technically infeasible due to limited space. He said that the MTRCL planned to retrofit pedestrian crossing facility there instead to facilitate crossing of Lung Poon Street by the nearby residents after it had concluded that provision of lift was infeasible.

(iv) Hygiene of Footbridge

He explained that the FEHD was responsible for maintaining the cleanliness and hygiene of footbridges whereas the HyD was responsible for keeping the footbridge structure clean. The HyD would clean the footbridge structures at least once in a quarter and the interior of lifts at least once a day. He said that the HyD only had the resources for the repair of the structure, but not for keeping the hygiene. Thus, the Department would keep on performing its duties in partnership with the FEHD as divided.

Besides, he gave a reply on the water leakage of footbridge and long fixing time for the water leakage problem by the HyD. To him, the situation was undesirable and there might be something wrong in the communication. The HyD would pay more attention to the situation and relay the information concerning the repair works to Members as early as possible. He said that the Department would follow up on the repair works of the two footbridges mentioned by Members and improve the situation as soon as possible.

(v) Repaving of walkways with bricks and other works

He pointed out that repaving of walkways with bricks had to be considered from an environmental protection perspective. If the existing road surface was in good condition, the HyD did not see any reason for prompting immediate repaving works and the Department would stick to the existing maintenance schedule to conduct repairs one after another.

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Other than this, the HyD would also follow up on the uneven road surface in Tsui Chuk Garden to see if it was related to the works project of MTRCL.

26. The Chairman said that before the launching of “Universal Accessibility” Programme, Members of Wong Tai Sin District Council had already formed the Working Group on Barrier-free Facilities in Wong Tai Sin in early 2012, with the purposes of resolving the construction issues in respect of barrier-free facilities that fell within the purviews of various government departments, forging links among all stakeholding Government departments, and discussing the about 30 works project proposals raised by Members. Before the establishment of the Working Group, communication among government departments for works projects alone would have taken two to three years even if the supply of resources was abundant. The Working Group could serve to avert this situation. He hoped Mr. LAU could take note that Wong Tai Sin District was well-prepared for implementing the projects at any time as long as the Government funding and manpower resources were available. He had also raised this point to the Chief Executive and Chief Secretary for Administration.

27. Ms. KWOK Sau-ying asked whether the HyD was responsible for cleansing footbridges whereas the FEHD for the sweeping.

28. Mr. LAU Ka-keung said in response that he welcomed the coordination efforts of the WTSDC and considered that it would facilitate the HyD’s implementation of the works projects. As far as he understood, the FEHD was responsible for hygiene maintenance of footbridges, including sweeping and partial cleansing for hygiene purpose whereas the HyD was responsible for cleansing of footbridge structures quarterly. If necessary, the frequency of footbridge structure cleansing would be increased. At the same time, the HyD was also responsible for the daily cleansing of the interior of lifts.

29. The Chairman thanked Mr. LAU and the representatives of HyD again for attending the meeting and he hoped that the HyD would take note of Members’ views.

(Ms KWOK Sau-ying, Mr. MOK Chung-fai, Rex, MH, JP, Mr. SHUM Wan-wa, Dan, Dr. WONG Kwok-yan and the Hon. WU Chi-wai, MH, left the meeting at 4:15 p.m.)

III(ii) Visit of the Postmaster General to Wong Tai Sin District Council

30. The Chairman welcomed Mrs. TING YIP Yin-mei, Jessie, JP, Postmaster General and Mr. YAN Kwok-yuen, Leo, Director (Operations) of Post Office to the meeting for this agenda item. The Chairman extended gratitude to Ms. YIP for giving the WTSDC a souvenir and invited Ms. YIP to present the work of Hong Kong Post (HKP) in Wong Tai Sin.

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31. Ms. YIP gave a presentation on the operation of HKP, which was consolidated as follows:

(i) Facility Network of HKP

Currently there were 127 post offices and more than 1 000 posting boxes all over the territory. Besides, there were also 28 delivery offices with service provided to nearly 3 million residential and commercial addresses through more than 1 700 delivery beats.

Besides, the HKP had two mail processing centres: the Airmail Centre at Chek Lap Kok processing international mails, and the Central Mail Centre at Kowloon Bay that came into full operation last year with a dedicated role of processing local mails.

(ii) Post Office Trading Fund

Since 1995, the HKP had been operating under the trading fund mode, with the mission of striving for provision of quality and reliable postal services to the public with an objective of “Linking People and Delivering Business”. As the Department operated under the trading fund mode, it enjoyed higher flexibility in terms of business operation and financial management. The HKP covered its operation expenses and enhanced its service quality through business development.

Operation under the Post Office Trading Fund was challenging. Firstly, the HKP had to provide general postal services and maintain the various widely scattered postal facilities which imposed difficulty on its operation while other service operators alike would just provide profitable services. Postal operation was labour intensive in nature, and operating costs would likely to inflate as the result of rising wages. Besides, due to e-substitution, the volume of traditional letter mail kept decreasing while traffic of packets and parcels that involved more manual procedures on the rise resulted from the growth of online shopping. The Department had to adjust its staffing arrangement accordingly. Meanwhile, the air conveyance costs and terminal dues payments (i.e. the payments charged to the HKP by overseas postal administrations for mail delivery) were also escalating. Furthermore, more resources had to be devoted for service quality enhancement in response to the growing expectation of customers.

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(iii) Development Strategy of HKP

In face of the challenges, the HKP had formulated responsive strategies and the details of which were as follows:

(a) Introducing Diversified Services for Expanding Source of Customers

On top of provision of traditional mail delivery services, the HKP kept on introducing new services and phasing out the old ones with a view to meeting the changing market needs. For examples, issuance of new stamps with special themes and production of diversified stamp products; as well as provision of bill payment, remittance and e-certification services;

(b) Controlling Costs and Enhancing Operational Efficiency

The HKP streamlined its work procedures through mechanisation and making full use of information technologies. Its sorting office at the General Post Office and the International Mail Centre was integrated into the Central Mail Centre to achieve better operational efficiency. Besides, the Department had made sustained efforts in enhancing the successful address reading rate of its mechanic letter sorting system. Currently, the mechanic system was able to read the printed English addresses, and the Department was further developing the Chinese addresses reading function of the mechanic system, in the hope that the manual letter-sorting procedures could be reduced.

The Department was launching the Integrated Postal Services System (IPSS) programme to automate counter operations and streamline back-end workflow. At the same time, the Department’s development of the Mail Flow Management and Tracking System was also underway. The system could improve the mail processing procedures and enhance management of resources by making use of real-time mail data. In face of the escalating air conveyance costs and terminal dues payments for outbound

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mails, the Department would continue to strive for a more favourable price for air cargo space and have bilateral negotiations with other postal administrations for a lower terminal dues payment rate.

The Department made an optimal use of its postal facility network that covered the whole territory. For example, provision of advertising space at the external walls of its post offices and façade of posting boxes for lease, as well as provision of Automatic Teller Machines at some of its post offices to bring convenience to the public.

(d) Regular Review on and Adjustment to the Postage Rates and Charges on Postal Services

The Department would regularly review and adjust its postage rates and charges on postal services, in order to achieve cost recovery and maintain the healthy financial performance of the Post Office Trading Fund.

(e) Enhancing Customer Experience

The Department adopted a customer-oriented and refreshing design when renovating post offices. Besides, it also rolled out an online mailing platform that allowed users to, instead of filling out the conventional form, input their data to the system direct for sending mail. At the same time, HKP also launched a mobile application that enabled tracking a certain designated mail services and provided postal information as well.

(iv) Support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

For the service mission of “Delivering Business”, the HKP provided diversified support services for local SMEs with a view to facilitating them to boost their performance in the following four aspects:

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(a) Business Development and Brand Building

Market competition nowadays was vigorous and direct mailing was an effective channel for making products known to customers. Apart from local direct mailing services, the HKP also, in collaboration with the China Post, provided cross-border direct mail services in 11 cities in the Mainland and offered one-stop shop services providing electronic marketing solution for local SMEs, for example, provision of electronic direct mailing service and the online feedback page.

(b) Logistics and Delivery, Sales Channels

The HKP provided a wide array of local and overseas delivery solutions for SMEs at a diverse price range. For example, while online shopping was very popular, the “Smart Post” service (with choices between mail delivery and counter collection available) was provided for these shoppers. Apart from the standard package, the HKP could also tailor-make delivery solutions for customers to suit their needs. Other than this, since last year, all post offices had been providing counter collection service for on-line shoppers of Taobao and the service was well-received.

For sales channels, the HKP currently, through its online sales platform “ShopThruPost”, issued a variety of featured products, including those from our local young designers, products featuring Hong Kong characteristics and items from social enterprises.

Each year, the HKP would issue ten-odd sets of stamp products which won wide popularity among philatelists. The special stamps would be wonderful corporate gifts for business partners and customers. The “Heartwarming” Stamps of those special stamps could also be made into various special gifts. For example, a District Council had produced souvenirs with “Heartwarming” stamps. Besides, the HKP would provide gift delivery services for major festive occasions as well.

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(d) Internal Support Services

The HKP provided payment service and global remittance service for SMEs. Besides, to enhance online communication security, the HKP provided Certification Authority (CA) Service which facilitated users in identity verification of the subscribers over the Internet and encryption of electronic information. No contents of electronic communication would be altered.

(v) HKP’s Partnership with the Community

In Wong Tai Sin District, there were 7 post offices and 30 posting boxes with 68 delivery beats. There were 32 buildings and housing estates in the district having partnership arrangement with the HKP by offering temporary storage for large-sized mail items. Under the arrangement, if a large-sized mail item could not put into the mail box or if the postman could not reach the recipient for delivery, the mail item concerned would then be passed to the building office for temporary storage until collection by the residents when the latter were available. This arrangement achieved a “triple-win” situation among the addressees, building management office and HKP. The Department therefore hoped to put more efforts in strengthening its promotion of the scheme in districts.

In addition, the Department found from time to time incorrect addresses of mails, which would cause delivery delay. Besides, the way how the floor level of old tenement buildings was written in Chinese was different from that in English. Members of the public were suggested to pay attention to this point. To tackle the said problem, the HKP had rolled out at its website a search tool of “Correct Addressing” which enabled users to search local addresses in Chinese or English by “Housing Estate/Building/Street” or by structured address. The tool also provided the address in correct Chinese and English formats that could be used for printing on the envelopes and as address labels for mail. If members of the public found that the address was not available after search, they could inform the HKP for review and update of the database. At the same time, the Department was also developing the mobile application version for this tool to further facilitate usage by the public.

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The Department also reminded the public that sending of prohibited or dangerous articles by air mail (such as lithium batteries, items of volatile nature) was prohibited. Members of the public were also reminded to properly pack their mail items before posting them or to use postal stationery available for sale at the HKP.

Some letter boxes in Wong Tai Sin District were sub-standard in terms of their sizes. Damaged or unlocked letter boxes, or discolouration of flat numbers on the letter boxes were also found. Some buildings having their main gates all time locked without installation of door answering devices made mail delivery by postmen difficult. The Department hoped the public could give due regard to the said problems.

(Mr. CHAN On-tai arrived at the meeting at 4:35 p.m.)

32. The Chairman thanked Ms. YIP for the presentation and he invited Members’ views on the work of Post Office.

33. The Hon. CHAN Yuen-han, SBS, JP, while raising her disagreement over the way how the Department handled Chuk Yuen Post Office, expressed her understanding of the various challenges that the Department was facing and its needs to cut costs and generate revenue. She continued that she had been asked recently in the Legislative Council why the Department closed down the On Ting Post Office in Tuen Mun but allowed the Post Offices in Wong Tai Sin to continue their services. In this regard, she would like to enquire the Department about the criteria for closing down post offices.

34. Mr. WONG Yat-yuk said the services provided by the HKP in Tsz Wan Shan area had benefited many residents and the elderly. Recently, some members of the public had relayed to him that the postmen had to walk through the whole Wong Tai Sin and Tsz Wan Shan areas for mail delivery, which was very labourious. He understood that the Department had to cut its costs by gradually replacing its mail vans with the contractor’s vans. He wished to know if the Department had provided any supporting resources (for example, travel allowance) to help its frontline staff.

35. Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy, said that there was no post office in the Diamond Hill area and residents of this area had to travel to Wong Tai Sin or Tsz Wan Shan for postal services, which was very inconvenient to them. For some mobility-handicapped elderly, it would be impossible for them to reach the post offices. The works project of the Diamond Hill Comprehensive Development Area was soon to be commenced and she considered that a post office should be provided in the Area to spare the residents of the Area from making tiresome trips for the services. She wished to know if the Department could consider her suggestion.

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36. Mr. SO Sik-kin said that Ms. YIP was a liberal person and willing to listen to different views, which was commendable. While understanding that the Department had heavy workload and challenges in operation, he hoped that the Department could take more cost-cutting and revenue-generating measures with a view to achieving service enhancement.

37. Mr. HUI Kam-shing said that the residents of Chuk Yuen Estate considered the Department’s arrangement on Chuk Yuen Post Office acceptable and he thanked Ms. YIP for her efforts made. He noted the challenges faced by the Department and pointed out that less and less people were using postal services in light of the growing acceptance of electronic mails. He said that with the rapid development of online shopping, many shoppers used courier companies for goods delivery. He wished to enquire about the proportion of the HKP’s income generated from the counter collection service for online purchase, as well as the positioning and development strategy of the Department in respect of such service provision. Besides, he was pleased to note that the HKP had put in place the arrangement of temporary storage for large-sized mail items and he acknowledged that it would bring convenience to the public. He wished to enquire the Department if such service would be further promoted and how the Department could ensure the safe custody of mail items in temporary storage of building management offices. Lastly, he hoped that the Department could strike a good balance between the aim of cost cutting and revenue generation, and the target of providing quality postal service for the public.

38. Mr. LAI Wing-ho, Joe, MH said that WTSDC had been discussing the various issues concerning the shortening of business hours, closure and relocation of post offices in recent years. The root of the problem lied on various challenges to postal services and the evolvement trend of our times which could not be reversed. He understood that the Department had been making big efforts in revenue generation and cost cutting, and introducing many new services. However, he considered that these services could only bring in slim profits and that it would still be difficult for the Department to get out of the dilemma in the long run. In light of popularity of email communication, he suggested the Department to establish a super computer and database in Hong Kong to tie in with the trend of new digital era. Such move could not only prevent the electronic mails of Hong Kong from transmitting through overseas databases, but also bring in business opportunities for the Department. Hong Kong should take the chance to set up a database in traditional Chinese characters.

(Mr. WONG Kwok-tung left the meeting at 4:45 p.m.)

39. Mr. TING Chi-wai, Roy welcomed Ms. YIP’s consultation earlier with Mr. HUI Kam-shing, Mr. SO Sik-kin and him on the arrangement of business hours of Chuk Yuen Post Office. He hoped that the Department could stick to the current

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approach for the benefit of the residents, especially the elderly, in the district. Provision of postal services was a livelihood issue instead of an economic one. Although postal service operators in many parts of the world were facing the problem of business loss, they could not simply close down their post offices because of business loss or competition since many people were still relying on their services. Lastly, he encouraged the Department to take on the challenges.

40. Mr. CHAN On-tai wished to raise some suggestions on revenue generation. He learnt from his online shopping experience that the service quality of logistic companies varied and these companies would not bear any responsibilities for the quality of the goods. In view of prevalence of online shopping, he suggested the Department to tap on this business opportunity and provide online shopping logistics services. He pointed out that credibility and charge rate of service provider were the major factors considered by shoppers when using the service. The former factor was considered as more important than the latter one and people were willing to pay more to get services that were more reliable. As the HKP had an edge on credibility, he suggested the Department to, with the support of local logistics industry, undertake online shopping logistics services and play the role as a goods receiving/transit point in Hong Kong, in collaboration with other well-reputed Mainland and overseas organisations. The Department should also make good use of its advantages and consider, for examples, offering 24-hour services through manpower deployment, acting as an intermediary to certify the quality of goods and providing goods return services. He believed that if the Department could also tap on the opportunity of logistics service provision, its revenue would substantially increase and its practice would be drawn on as a model for other places. The situation of “triple-win” would be attained.

41. Mr. MOK Ying-fan was concerned about the Department’s frequent proposals raised earlier on closing down post offices and scaling down its postal service provision. He queried if the Department took only the financial factor into consideration. Although the HKP was operating under the trading fund mode on a self-financing basis, it should not cast its focus only on cost cutting without paying attention to revenue-generation because it was a department that provided services closely related to people’s livelihood. Scaling down of service provision was an approach of putting the cart before the horse. He hoped that the Department could make more efforts in working out how to maintain existing level of service provision while at the same time the target of self-financing could be successfully achieved. He continued that the Audit Commission’s criticisms on HKP earlier was raised from a rather audit point of view and the HKP should not solely take them into consideration by scaling down its level of service provision, which would be against the public’s expectation. While understanding that the Department was facing many difficulties in providing service to the public and maintaining its operation, he hoped that the

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Department could concentrate its efforts in revenue-generation instead of solely considering service reduction.

(Mr. CHAN Wai-kwan, Andie, left the meeting at 4:55 p.m.)

42. Ms. YIP thanked Members for their views and gave her consolidated reply as follows:

(i) Post Office Network

Currently there were 127 post offices in the territory. The Department had to provide service for the public and make the optimal use of resources. The market was ever-evolving and the service needs of customers would change. The Department hoped to make the best use of resources for raising its level of service quality which would in turn benefit its customers.

The Department would, from time to time, review the service demand for its post office network. The Department would adjust its service provision if the service demand was decreasing and there was also other channels providing the services (for example, payment service, stamp-selling service). Given that the situation of individual district might vary, consideration for service adjustment would be made on a case-by-case basis. The Department would handle the case prudently. In case of a population increase due to new development in a district, the Department would keep a close eye on the resulting postal service demand brought in.

(ii) Deployment Arrangement for Frontline Officers

The Department would ensure proper deployment arrangement for outdoor workers. Currently, the vehicle fleet of the Department was providing transportation services, including those with government vehicles and procured from outside market. The Department would make good use of its resource and make arrangement with due regard to the actual situations.

The Department attached due care to the occupational safety and health of its staff. Each postman usually had to deliver three to four bags of mail a day and it would be impossible to carry them all

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for long time. Therefore, the vehicle fleet would deliver some of the mail bags to the purple mail storage boxes for temporary storage and retrieval by postman. Each postman was also provided with a mail trolley to facilitate their work.

(iii) Prevalence of Online Shopping

At present, online shopping was very popular. The Department would keep on exploring new services to meet the needs of customers. The Department was aware that there were many online shops using bulk mail service. The Department’s online mailing platform would facilitate these senders in undergoing mailing procedures by enabling them to input their data to the system direct instead of filling out the conventional forms. Besides, the HKP also provided system interconnection service which allowed users to fill out 500 entries of information in one-go. Through early acquisition of mailing information, the Department might be able to start resource planning and related logistics work, for example, contacting airline companies for booking cargo space, for the purposes of workflow streamlining and cost control.

Although there were many business opportunities in the market, the Department also at the same time had many competitors. While the HKP was providing a full range of services, other service providers would usually provide profitable services, for examples, delivery service along railway lines or in commercial and industrial areas. In the contrast, the HKP was serving the whole territory with a unified postage rate, which would inevitably cause some difficulties to its operation. The Department had been attaching great importance to its service quality with an aim of providing value-for-money services, believing that customers would make correct choices.

(iv) Business Development

The HKP kept an open mind on business development and would study this aspect carefully. However, some of the suggestions raised by Members (for example, establishment of a database) were outside the business scope of the Department as stipulated in laws. The Department would concentrate its efforts on developing business that it was good at. The Department agreed that there was room for developing logistics and delivery business, and it would continue to work on this aspect.

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For temporary storage service for large-sized mail items, currently there were about 32 participating buildings and housing estates. The number was on the low side. The Department hoped to take this opportunity to promote and sought cooperation from Members for bringing the information about this service to more building management offices. To join the provision of temporary storage service for large-sized mail items, consent of the owners’ corporations had to be obtained, and the buildings should also be able to offer sufficient space. The Department was very concerned about the safe custody of the temporarily stored mail items and a good track record of mail delivery.

(v) Business Challenges and Conclusion

It was difficult for the Department to identify the proportion of income generated from online shopping related service because the online shopping items would not specially denoted. However, the Department noticed that the parcel volume was on the rise as a result of the growing online shopping. Meanwhile, some other problems also arouse as well. For example, improper packaging that failed to provide sufficient protection to the mail. Besides, some online goods items were wrapped with plenty of packing materials, which would require more manpower for handling and more space for back-end mail processing. Facing the said challenges and the ever-evolving market, the Department would take on and face up to the challenges with an innovative mind. Views of Members were noted and the Department hoped to provide value-for-money service to the public.

43. The Hon. CHAN Yuen-han, SBS, JP said that the way how the Department handled the Chuk Yuen Post Office was acceptable for it managed to answer the residents’ requests. However, the Department still insisted on closing down the On Ting Post Office in Tuen Mun where the service demand was even stronger. She enquired the Department about the relevant criteria.

44. Ms. YIP replied that the Department had been monitoring the operations of its post offices and handled the service arrangement of all post offices with a set of consistent criteria. Factors considered including, among others, the local demand for postal services, availability of other channels providing the services (such as payment and stamp-selling services) in the vicinity of the network of post office facilities. Since the situation of individual district might vary, the Department had to consider the actual situation and then worked out suitable solution accordingly.

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45. The Chairman, in his conclusion, thanked Ms. YIP and Mr. YAN for attending the meeting of WTSDC and hoped the Department would follow-up on Members’ suggestions. He wished the Department success in its endeavours.

(Mr. MOK Kin-wing, Ms. TAM Heung-man, Mandy, and Mr. WONG Yat-yuk left the meeting at 5:15 p.m.)

III(iii) Kai Tak Development - Phase II Improvement Works at Kai Tak Approach Channel and Kwun Tong Typhoon Shelter (WTSDC Paper No. 61/2015)

46. The Chairman welcomed the representatives of CEDD, namely, Mr. MA Hon-ngai, Harry, Chief Engineer, Mr. IP Shu-kuen, Galy, Senior Engineer, Mr. CHU Chi-hong, Keith, Engineer, and Mr. TSUI Man-leung, Lawrence, Associate Director (Environment) of AECOM Asia Company Limited

47. Mr. MA Hon-ngai, Harry, Chief Engineer of CEDD and Mr. TSUI Man-leung, Lawrence, Associate Director (Environment) of AECOM Asia Company Limited, presented the document.

48. The Vice-Chairman said he understood that the purpose of the CEDD’s alteration was to improve the water quality of Kai Tak Approach Channel but he had reservation if the proposal of “Interception and Pumping Scheme” (“IP Scheme”) option in lieu of the originally proposed “600-metre opening” option could achieve the same results. The Vice-chairman was of the view that the “600-metre opening” option had already been discussed for very long time and the Department had also repeatedly lobbied Members’ support for the option. But then, the Department suddenly put forth the “IP Scheme” as alternative new option which was uncertain to him. He expected the Department to provide more justifications convincing Members to give their support for the new option. Besides, from an environmental protection point of view, he doubted whether the “IP Scheme” option would require more resources for, such as, pipeline construction and energy consumption, and that it was not cost-effective. He considered that it would be more comprehensive to adopt both the “IP Scheme” option and “600-metre opening” option. The Vice-chairman pointed out that there were figures showing that the level of E. Coli at Kai Tak Approach Channel was still high. In the aftermath of the typhoon in July 2015, tens of thousands of dead fishes emitting stinky smell were found in the sea off the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. He believed that to improve the water quality of Kai Tak Approach Channel, the CEDD had to, on top of putting in place the infrastructure, step up its surveillance over the sources of pollution, including enhancing its site-inspection, rooting up the problems of illegal connection and ageing of pipes, as well as combating fly-tipping and dumping of wastewater, etc.

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He hoped that the Department could take a holistic approach in dealing with the problem with a view to fully tackling the stinky smell problem of Kai Tak Approach Channel and benefiting the residents of Wong Tai Sin District and Kwun Tong District.

49. Mr. HO Hon-man, MH, concurred with the mitigation measures as recommended in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for Kai Tak Development (KTD) under the EIA Ordinance and approved by the Government in March 2009, namely, “Rectification of expedient connections and interception of polluted discharges from hinterland into KTAC/KTTS”. However, he queried the Department for failing to have proper surveillance over the source of pollution. In support of the Government’s “Keep Clean @ Hong Kong” Campaign, he had visited many housing estates to inspect their back lanes and drainage facilities. Many irregularities related to illegal connection and alternation of pipes were found. For example, some residents had connected sewers to the stormwater drains, and some food premises washed their tableware at their back lanes, and so on. He thought that these practices would pose grave challenges to the Government’s Harbour Area Treatment Scheme. Besides, Mr. HO opined that if the “IP Scheme” option could make use of the existing seawater pump house facility for cooling system in Kai Tak Area, there would not be any problem of cost ineffectiveness. He hoped that the Department could give an account on the volume of sea water flow involved in these two options. Yet, he said that he tended to support the “IP Scheme” option because he considered that this option could treat more sewage and was more effective. He also hoped that the Department could explain why the seawater intake was to be developed at its proposed location instead of an upstream location for better results.

50. The Hon. CHAN Yuen-han, SBS, JP, said that she concurred very much with the suggestion of the Vice-chairman, i.e., adoption of both the “IP Scheme” option and “600-metre opening” option for improving the water quality of Kai Tak Approach Channel. Although she had great confidence in the Department’s technical skills in tackling the problems, she considered that adoption of both options could reduce risk and effectively improve the water quality. She hoped that the Department could add a watercourse near the outlet of the Nullah to further improve the water quality of Kai Tak Approach Channel. Besides, she also shared the view of Mr. HO Hon-man, MH, in that proper surveillance work over pollution source had to be conducted. While hoping that the runway tip could be opened to the public for water activities, she was of the view that it could be done when the water quality was good. Lastly, she expressed support for the “IP Scheme” option and suggested the Department to, if resources permitted, adopt both options for improving the water quality of Kai Tak Approach Channel.

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51. Mr. CHAN On-tai considered that the solution had to be “low in cost and high in efficacy”. In his view, the most important thing was that the Department could provide suitable facilities at the suitable locations, for example, provision of ozone facilities at suitable locations.

52. Mr. MA Hon-ngai, Harry responded that the latest envisaged “IP Scheme” option was different from the previous option of “600-metre opening” in terms of its proportion and scale. After having completed the first two mitigation measures as recommended in the EIA report for KTD, the Department conducted computer simulated assessment on the water quality of different options basing on their actual efficacies and discussed with Environmental Protection Department (EPD) for a number of times in this regard. The data of the simulated assessment had also been passed to the EPD for inspection. The EPD finally concurred that the “IP Scheme” option could also meet the requirement specified in the EIA Report and accepted the smaller-scale “IP Scheme” option to replace the “600-metre opening” option. By comparing the two options, it was found that the “IP Scheme” would achieve better energy efficiency for it helped reduce 90% of construction waste and its carbon emission in the coming 30 years would only be about one-sixth of that of the “600-metre opening” option. The Department noted that the level of E. Coli at Kai Tak Approach Channel was still high. It was conducting another study to explore the feasibility of further improving the water quality of KTAC/KTTS since the main purpose of the “IP Scheme” was just to meet the EIA requirements. Mr. MA said that the Department was also concerned about the occurrence of dead fishes in the sea off the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal and had contacted the EPD for this incident. The EPD had started the investigation and it was anticipated that the EPD would report its findings to Members. For the problem of illegal pipe connection, the Department had conducted joint-investigation with the EPD and Drainage Services Department (DSD). It shared with the two Departments the relevant information whereas the EPD would take follow-up and prosecution action. Mr. MA also said that the proposal of utilisation of an existing seawater pump house under district cooling system would make the project more cost effective. Adoption of the “IP Scheme” option only for improving the water quality of KTAC/KTTS was out of cost effectiveness consideration because adoption of the “IP Scheme” option alone could be enough to meet the EIA requirements. The Department would monitor the project for two years upon its completion with a view to reviewing its effectiveness to meet the EIA requirements. The Department would also consider other options proposed by Members, such as the one on provision of ozone facilities at suitable locations. However, he stressed that the Department had to balance the advantages and disadvantages of all options when making the decision.

53. Mr. CHAN On-tai supplemented an option, saying that the Department could consider using photocatalytic oxidation to improve the water quality and that he believed it was the most cost effective option.

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54. The Hon. CHAN Yuen-han, SBS, JP further enquired if the Department found that the project failed to meet the EIA requirements during the two years’ monitoring period upon project completion, would the cost of the remedial option by then be substantially increased.

55. Mr. MA Hon-ngai, Harry said that if the findings of monitoring exercise showed that the EIA requirements could not be met, the Department would decide on what remedial measures to be taken, having regard to the discrepancy between the monitoring results and the requirements. As it was mandatory to meet the requirements of EIA, therefore, the EPD would definitely follow up on the situation with the Department.

56. The Chairman concluded that since the new option would utilise the existing seawater pump house facility for district cooling system, it was believed that the new option would not cause any extra energy consumption. Besides, he said that the Department had already provided detailed data to substantiate its proposal of developing the “hardware” and that the DC had to follow up on the “software” matters after the “hardware” had developed. He pointed out that the “600-metre opening” option would require more resources than the “IP Scheme” option but they had similar level of effectiveness. Coupled with the fact that the “IP Scheme” option could also meet the EIA requirements, therefore, the DC also had to strike a good balance. Moreover, he noted that the Kowloon City District Council and Kwun Tong District Council had already endorsed this option as well. As the Department undertook to keep monitoring and following up on the water quality for two years after project completion, he therefore suggested WTSDC to endorse this option.

57. Members did not raise any objection and the paper was endorsed.

III(iv) “Universal Accessibility” Programme - Report on Development of Provision of Lift Facilities to Footbridge (Structure No. KF76) (WTSDC Paper No. 71/2015)

58. The Chairman welcomed the representatives of CEDD, namely, Mr. CHOW Man-tat, Project Team Leader/Universal Accessibility Projects and Mr. WAN Ka-leung, Project Supervisor/Universal Accessibility Projects, and Ms. LUI Bik-yuk, Pamela, Principal Engineer of Parson Brinckerhoff (Asia) Limited.

59. Mr. CHOW Man-tat of the CEDD and Ms. LUI Bik-yuk, Pamela of Parson Brinckerhoff (Asia) Limited presented the paper with the aid of Powerpoint.

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60. Mr. KAN Chi-ho, BBS, MH, JP thanked Mr. CHOW for the detailed presentation and presented the written submission on behalf of the Wong Tai Sin Branch of DAB (Annex 3).

61. Mr. LAI Wing-ho, Joe, MH pointed out that Mr. CHOW had given a very detailed account on the background of the project and that he, as the Chairman of the Working Group on Barrier-free Facilities in Wong Tai Sin as well as of the Traffic and Transport Committee, had very deep impression about the project. Just as what had been said, this DC had in the past discussed in detailed the development of the whole project and accorded priorities to the various projects as identified by HyD under the “Universal Accessibility” Programme. If the CEDD found it necessary to arrange for gazettal of this project, the Department should proceed with the process. The DC found no reason to raise objection at this stage.

62. Mr. LAI also said that he did not agree to the view that provision of the lift at the proposed project site was unnecessary just because the MTRCL had already provided a lift near the site. In his opinion, although some people considered that the lift of the MTRCL was not far away from the proposed project site, others had different views. In fact, the project site proposed by the Department was closer to the bus terminal and the two lifts had different landing locations. Besides, the Department had also conducted survey on pedestrian flow for this project and the data showed that during the peak hours, there were over 2 000 pedestrians commuting there. However, the lift developed by the MTRCL was small in size because the walkway was narrow. He queried if its capacity could absorb the pedestrian flow there. He had personally visited other areas with high pedestrian flow (such as Wan Chai Station of MTRCL) and found that there were several lifts serving at a particular location of a footbridge. Therefore, he believed that the Department should, having regard to the practical circumstances, work out a detailed design for this project.

63. Mr. LAI pointed out that, in the past, the DC had repeatedly expressed its view that among the three priority lift construction projects selected by the WTSDC, one of them should not be constructed for the time being and that the savings was recommended to be reallocated for other works project in Wong Tai Sin, for example, provision of lift facilities to Footbridge KF92. The DC had sent a letter to the THB on this proposal and conducted a site visit with the HyD to study the feasibility of the proposal. According to the then preliminary view, there were technical difficulties in constructing a lift at Footbridge KF92 (including there were high voltage cables beneath the ground and structural changes to facilities on road were required). The Chief Executive had said, projects should be launched once they were ready. Currently, construction of lifts to both Footbridge KF76 and Footbridge KF92 could not be considered at the same time mainly because the Government did not have sufficient resources. Since it was the final meeting of the Fourth-term District Council, the

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proposal of lift provision to Footbridge KF92 had to be left to the next term DC for action. However, he hoped that whoever assuming the chairmanship of the Working Group on Barrier-free Facilities in Wong Tai Sin or Traffic and the Transport Committee should make reference to the view of this term’s DC and work on the implementation of the proposal. Lastly, he hoped that the proposal of lift construction at Footbridge KF76 could be implemented as soon as possible.

64. The Chairman concluded that Members attending this meeting suggested the CEDD to continue with the project of lift provision to Footbridge KF76 and he hoped that the project would be completed smoothly.

65. The Chairman thanked Mr. CHOW Man-tat, Mr. WAN Ka-leung and Ms. LUI Bik-yuk, Pamela for attending the meeting of WTSDC.

IV Progress Reports

66. Members noted the following papers:

(i) Progress Report of the 23rd Meeting of the Community Building and Social Services Committee held on 14 July 2015 (WTSDC Paper No. 62/2015)

(ii) Progress Report of the 23rd Meeting of the District Facilities Management Committee (DFMC) held on 21 July 2015 (WTSDC Paper No. 63/2015)

(iii) Progress Report of the 23rd Meeting of the Traffic and Transport Committee held on 28 July 2015 (WTSDC Paper No. 64/2015)

(iv) Progress Report of the 23rd Meeting of the Housing Committee held on 4 August 2014 (WTSDC Paper No. 65/2015)

(v) Progress Report of the 23rd and 24th Meetings of the Finance, General and Economic Affairs Committee held respectively on 11 August and 1 September 2015 (WTSDC Paper No. 66/2015)

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(vi) Progress Report of the 23rd Meeting of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee held on 18 August 2015 (WTSDC Paper No. 67/2015)

(vii) Progress Report of the 5th Meeting of the Task Force on Medical Facilities in Wong Tai Sin held on 17 August 2015 (WTSDC Paper No. 68/2015)

(viii) Progress Report of the 16th Meeting of the Working Group on Government and Public Utilities Works Projects held on 1 September 2015 (WTSDC Paper No. 69/2015)

(ix) Progress Report of the Wong Tai Sin District Management Committee Meeting held on 14 August 2015 (WTSDC Paper No. 70/2015)

67. On general affairs, the Chairman said that a letter from Sik Sik Yuen inviting the WTSDC to co-organise its 95th Anniversary programmes was received. As the preparation for publicity of programmes would start in December 2015 and Sik Sik Yuen was one of the important local organisations in Wong Tai Sin working closely with WTSDC, the Chairman suggested endorsement in principle its invitation under the name of this term’s DC. The Secretariat would then submit the invitation to the next-term WTSDC at its first full council meeting for formal endorsement. Members concurred with the Chairman’s suggestion and the Secretariat was tasked to follow up.

(Post-meeting Note: The Secretariat gave a reply to Sik Sik Yuen on 14 September 2015 that the Fourth-term Wong Tai Sin District Council had endorsed in principle to co-organise with Sik Sik Yuen its 95th Anniversary programmes.)

68. Besides, the Chairman drew Members’ attention that as reported by the MTRCL on 1 September 2015 at the 16th meeting of the Working Group on Government and Public Utilities Works Projects, about 86% of the overall civil engineering works of the tunnel between Kai Tak Station and Diamond Hill Station had already completed. Upon completion of the tunnel boring works (i.e. around the first quarter of 2016) some of the monitoring equipment installed along the tunnel would be removed. By then, temporary traffic control measures would be implemented by phases on parts of the eastbound carriageway of Choi Hung Road for a period of about one week. The Secretariat had forwarded the document concerned to the Members of Traffic and Transport Committee for their consideration.

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V Date of the Next Meeting

69. The Chairman said that it was the final meeting of the Fourth-term of WTSDC. For the first meeting date of the Fifth Wong Tai Sin District Council, the Secretariat would inform Members in writing and it was expected to be held at 2:30 p.m. on 5 January 2016 (Tuesday) at this conference room.

70. The Chairman thanked Members for their fervent support that had been given to him and the Vice-chairman in carrying out their DC duties, enabling the meetings being held smoothly and harmoniously. He appreciated Members’ frank attitude in discussing issues of people’s livelihood and their concerted efforts in improving the environment for and quality of living of the residents of Wong Tai Sin. Besides, he attributed the achievements attained in Wong Tai Sin to the cooperative efforts of various government departments, including among others, the Wong Tai Sin District Office (WTSDO), Hong Kong Police Force, Social Welfare Department, Housing Department, Transport Department, LCSD, FEHD, CEDD and HyD, as well as to the strenuous assistance rendered by local organisations and personalities to WTSDC in organising various community involvement programmes. Special thanks went to Mrs. Angel CHOI, JP for her leadership in directing the staff of WTSDO to work closely with Members and her efforts in coordinating the work of various government departments at district level.

71. Mrs. Angel CHOI, JP on behalf of the WTSDO staff, thanked the Chairman for his commendation on and encouragement to the Secretariat and the WTSDO staff. She also thanked the Chairman and all Members for their forbearance and guidance rendered, and their cooperation with her and the WTSDO staff.

72. She said that it was the last full council meeting of the current term WTSDC. It was also the “white dew” day of the Chinese 24 solar terms. It marked the passing from summer to fall, and was a great day for stocktaking. Revisiting the work of this term’s DC and its committees, the DC had obtained a good harvest with fruitful results under the excellent leadership of all the chairmen, including Mr. KAN Chi-ho, BBS, MH, JP, Mr. HO Yin-fai, Mr. LAI Wing-ho, Joe, MH, Mr. LEE Tat-yan, BBS, MH, Mr. CHAN Wai-kwan, Andie, and Mr. HO Hon-man, MH. The enthusiastic participation of all Members was also indispensable. The works projects, namely, “Expansion and Improvement of Wong Tai Sin Square” and “Enhancement of Leisure Facilities of Morse Park” under the “Energising Wong Tai Sin” Project of the $100 million Signature Project Scheme, had been smoothly launched one after another in Wong Tai Sin. In 2013, this DC took just less than three meeting hours to reach a consensus on these two projects, which was a good demonstration of its high efficiency. Under the leadership of Mr. LI Tak-hong, the DC Chairman, and Mr. KAN Chi-ho, the Chairman of DFMC, this DC swiftly secured funding from the Legislative Council and

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the Kick-off ceremony would be held on 20 September 2015 to kick-start the “Works Project of Expansion and Improvement of Wong Tai Sin Square”. Among all the works projects of the 18 administrative districts, the works project of “Expansion and Improvement of Wong Tai Sin Square” would be the first one to be completed. Other district minor works projects, including “Provision of Lift to Po Kong Village Road Footbridge in Wong Tai Sin”, had also been successfully completed or underway. She thanked Mr. KAN for his contributions and said that all the quoted examples exemplified the remarkable efficiency of WTSDC.

73. Mrs. CHOI continued that apart from the DFMC, the other five Committees also worked successfully with notable results. Generally speaking, the Fourth-term WTSDC had successfully implemented all its programmes, works and activities with fruitful achievements, which substantially raised the living quality of the residents in Wong Tai Sin and helped building up a harmonious community. All these could not have been achieved without the extraordinary attitude, perseverance, as well as untiring and concerted efforts of Members and staff members of various government departments. They worked around the clock in serving the residents. She thanked all Members and staff members of various government departments again for their contributions made for Wong Tai Sin District in the past. All of them had shown great devotion and enthusiasm to their work.

74. Incidentally, she conveyed special thanks to the Chairman Mr. LI for his vigorous participation and personal efforts in taking care of all matters of DC, be they big or small. This District Council, under the leadership of Mr. LI, who had strong rapport building skills, was highly efficient and harmonious. Finally, she looked forward to meeting all parties soon and working together again to serve Wong Tai Sin District.

75. The Chairman once again wished all attendees of the meeting every success in their future and good health.

76. The meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m.

Wong Tai Sin District Council Secretariat Ref: HAD WTSDC 13-5/5/53 Pt. 41 September 2015

4_DCM24(2015 9 8)-e 41 附件一

敬啟者：

第四屆區議會會期即將完結，經過多年的努力，有不少爭取的項目續能一一達到。但是，有部分的議題項目仍未取得進展，因此望各政府部門應按市民訴求盡力，相關議題如下： 1. 黃大仙區應設立急症室-這訴求一直是黃大仙居民在沒有急症室、沒有夜間服務下，強烈要求，可惜政府一直視若無睹； 2. 摩士公園游泳池興建暖水池-工程一直未排上動工日期，希望有關部門提供相關工程的時間表； 3. 綠置居計劃詳情-房屋署已落實以新蒲崗工廠大廈公屋項目作綠置居計劃試點，希望房屋署盡快公佈有關詳情； 4. 巴士轉乘優惠-應增設 5,3B 轉乘 2A,6D 優惠，前往九龍西-長沙灣、荔枝角一帶； 5. 要求 2F,3C,3D 巴士加密班次，改善脫班問題； 6. 要求盡快增設巴士到站時間預報系統； 7. 設立區內無障礙通道-包括彩雲社區會堂旁樓梯加升降機至牛池灣公園、新清水灣道與清水灣道交界的行人天橋加建升降機並連接坪石遊樂場、彩雲(二)期市場樓梯加設升降機連接彩雲商場平台、豐盛街連接玉宇樓飛鳳樓之間加升降機、黃大仙公共運輸交匯處至竹園北邨興建行人天橋。此致黃大仙區議會主席李德康議員 BBS, MH, JP

立法會議員陳婉嫻黃國健區議員何賢輝莫健榮譚美普王吉顯社區幹事陳澤森黃鎮健增選委員吳卓穎莊澤財二零一五年八月廿八日

本處檔案：L/WTSDC/20150904/TLF 敬啟者：要求盡快落實「「「人人暢道通行「人人暢道通行」」」政策」政策建設真正的無障礙社區

就政府於 2012 年公佈「人人暢道通行」政策以來，至今已有接近三年時間，但觀乎其成效及落實情況，並未如理想，我們認為當中涉及幾個主要的問題，包括：

第一、按政府過去向區議會表示，現時主要按立法會財務委員會的專項撥款，支付相關政策下的工程費用，但由於資源有限，由二零一三年至今，在全港十八區中，每區（包括黃大仙區）只能選出三項工程建議，約佔黃大仙區提出的二十二項建議中的百分之十四，比率極低，其中包括由我們提出的：

1) 彩輝邨橫跨牛池灣街行人天橋加設升降機、改善彩輝邨小巴站入口的通道、延長行人天橋至彩雲(二)邨豐澤樓及加設升降機；

2) 彩雲邨白鳳樓對出斜坡加設升降機、建設無障礙通道連接彩虹港鐵站 B 出口至彩雲邨，並提供扶手電梯或升降機；

3) 加設升降機連接彩雲社區會堂及平定道東；

4) 新清水灣道與清水灣道交界的行人天橋－擴建天橋及在近坪石遊樂場端加設升降機、及為行人天橋加設斜道；

5) 豐盛街玉宇樓及飛鳳樓之間加建行人天橋及升降機；

6) 鳳德邨斑鳳樓對出加設無障礙通道；及

7) 橫頭磡富美街行人天橋（近橫頭磡中道）加設三層升降機，分別前往行人天橋、橫頭磡四期平台及橫頭磡中道。

由此可見，相關的專項撥款並不足夠，資源極度不足；另外，在本年七月廿八日的交運會上，我們亦向路政署提出要求，將擬建「竹園北邨行人通道系統」延伸至沙田坳邨，希望政府慎重考慮我們的要求；

第二、從黃大仙區議會秘書處提供的各項工程建議的進展中可見，由於多項工程建議涉及多個政府部門或機構，而不同部門的回覆只表示不是由他們負責，

沒有一個政府部門負起統籌協調工作，難免令人覺得各個政府部門有著「各家自掃門前雪」的心態，令各項工程建議的進度「步寸難移」；及

第三、有關工程建議由可行性研究至進行詳細設計，至少超過一年時間以上，由籌備項目至完成工程，估計合共需要五年時間，時間過於冗長，未能迅速回應市民的實際需要。

為此，我們認為政府應盡快改善上述情況，並提出下列訴求：

第一) 我們要求政府盡快增加撥款，就不同的工程項目進行技術可行性研究，並盡快落實已進行可行性研究的工程；與此同時，亦希望了解現時政府就「人人暢道通行」政策的撥款情況，讓區議會更掌握資源分配的情況，從而預計各項建議工程的進度；

第二) 路政署既然作為建設無障礙設施的主要負責部門，因此，若遇上有工程建議涉及超過一個部門或私人機構，路政署應發揮關鍵及統籌協調的角色，以免令有關建議工程因此而一直拖延，不了了之；及

第三) 精簡各項程序，以改變過往由公眾諮詢、進行可行性研究、工程設計、申請撥款、招標至工程完成，需要花上四至五年的不合理時間。

「人人暢道通行」政策本來是一項回應市民訴求的德政，我們衷心希望政府積極落實，亦希望貴會向有關部門認真提出我們的意見及訴求，讓此項德政能夠成功推行及落實，建構真正的無障礙社區。此致黃大仙區議會主席暨全體委員

民建聯黃大仙支部黃大仙區議員簡志豪李德康黎榮浩何賢輝何漢文陳曼琪袁國強黃國恩譚美普社區幹事蔡子健李美蘭潘卓斌二零一五年九月四日

本處檔案：L/WTSDC/20150907_002/TLF 敬啟者：要求盡快落實行人天橋(((結構編號(結構編號：：：KF76)：KF76)KF76)加建升降機工程加建升降機工程就政府於 2012 年推出「人人暢道通行」政策，撥出專款落實興建無障礙設施，對此，黃大仙區議會一直支持相關政策，亦早於政策推出前，已成立黃大仙區無障礙設施工作小組（下簡稱“工作小組”），以監察、跟進及推動區內各項無障礙設施改善工程的進度。至 2013 年初，工作小組應路政署的要求，按地區的實際情況選出三個項目，優先進行技術可行性研究，經過工作小組的討論及議決，行人天橋（KF76）加建升降機便是其中一個優先處理項目。至 2014 年 1 月，土木工程拓展署向工作小組及黃大仙區議會轄下交通及運輸事務委員會（簡稱交運會）提交有關項目的技術可行性研究結果及相關的初步工程方案，並獲得工作小組及交運會支持及通過；及後在 2014 年 5、6 月間進行公眾諮詢期間，我們亦於區內進行問卷調查，調查結果顯示，大部份居民均贊成在該天橋兩端加建升降機。但由公眾諮詢至今，，，已超過一年時間，已超過一年時間，，，相關工程仍，相關工程仍然未能開展，，，對此，對此，，，我們有下列要求，我們有下列要求：：：第一、土木工程拓展署盡快進行法定刊憲程序及招標工作，展開工程；第二、確保在工程進行期間，仍能提供無障礙通道給輪椅使用者、推嬰兒車人士及其他行動不便人士使用；及第三、向工作小組提交相關工程的具體方案、工序及詳細的工程時間表。希望土木工程拓展署尊重議會的決定，盡快開展相關工程，不要一再拖延。此致黃大仙區議會主席暨全體委員

民建聯黃大仙支部黃大仙區議員簡志豪李德康黎榮浩何賢輝何漢文陳曼琪袁國強黃國恩譚美普社區幹事蔡子健潘卓斌李美蘭二零一五年九月七日